Former Navy pilot Dr Simon Mitchell says the mystery surrounding missing
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is "tearing up rule book in terms of how
to start looking for an aircraft"

Former Navy pilot Dr Simon Mitchell defends the time it has taken crews searching for missing flight MH370, saying the search for the jet "tore-up the rulebook" after it disappeared appeared 18 days ago.

"With advancing telecommunications we are finding new ways of gathering evidence ... every year there's a new technique that's discovered by using technology.

"This is absolutely tearing up the rulebook, in terms of how to start looking for an aircraft. The fact that it is not only not near, but thousands of miles away from the intended flight path - you can imagine this is what's made it so unique."

The Malaysian government has concluded that, based on satellite data analysis from British company Inmarsat, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 ended in the Indian Ocean, and no one on board survived.

Inmarsat’s role in the search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 began immediately after the aircraft disappeared. Although the main aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (which would usually transmit the plane's position) was switched off, one of Inmarsat’s satellites continued to pick up a series of automated hourly 'pings' from a terminal on the plane, which would normally be used to synchronise timing information.

By analysing these pings, Inmarsat was able to establish that MH370 continued to fly for at least five hours after the aircraft left Malaysian airspace, and that it had flown along one of two 'corridors' – one arcing north and the other south. The plane was reportedly flying at a cruising height above 30,000 feet.